A buoyant India side led by Rohit Sharma will hope to continue their winning run and extend their domination over the West Indies when they clash in the second T20I in St. Kitts and Nevis on Monday, August 1. The visitors are coming off a comprehensive victory in the opener of the five-match series.
India's all-round performance, coupled with some smart captaincy by Rohit, who fielded his three spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi, were the catalyst that led India to this victory. Another victory would only boost India's confidence further as they look to gain momentum ahead of the marquee T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022.
If it was Rishabh Pant who walked out as an opener in the T20Is against England with Rohit, the first game against the West Indies saw Suryakumar Yadav filling that role. He has turned out to be the seventh opener for India in T20Is in 2022 but got going quickly (24 off 16 balls) until Akeal Hosein stalled his progress.
Emergence of Arshdeep Singh
Over the years, a quality left-arm pacer is something the Indian team has not had, but that could change with the emergence of the promising Arshdeep Singh, who left a mark in the first game with his tight spell. The 23-year-old Punjab pacer showed promise throughout his four-over spell, especially the manner in which he dismissed opener Kyle Mayers with a premeditated short ball.
At the end of the game, Arshdeep again bowled perfect lines to remove all-rounder Akeal Hosein with a perfect yorker.
India's designated finisher
After Rohit departed following a captain's knock of 64 off 44 deliveries, things slowed down for India. While the visitors were on course to finish at around 170, veteran Dinesh Karthik had other ideas, helping the team set a target of 191. The 37-year-old once again aced the finisher's role (41 off 19 balls) to help the team amass 36 runs off the last two overs.
Given Karthik's prowess, he would fancy his chances of doing an encore.
Spin troika of 'Ravi' shine for India
Both R Ashwin and young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi made significant contributions in the first game. Ashwin (2/22 from four overs), who was brought back into the T20 squad after quite a while, showed that he still has a lot to offer in the shortest format. The 21-year-old Bishnoi (2/26 from 4 overs) also showed that he is out there to perform on the big stage.
It remains to be seen if the team management continues with the trio of Jadeja, Ashwin, and Bishnoi, or bring in Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
Teams
India
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Dinesh Karthik, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Parel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneswar Kumar, Harshal Patel
West Indies
Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Rovman Powell, Shamarh Brooks, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh.
